Boks stretch world rugby lead as local teams tussle in tight finish

By Derek Alberts 

The Boks opened up a lead over the second-placed All Blacks in the official World Rugby rankings without kicking a ball over the past year. The last time the Springboks played was in the 2019 World Cup final when they defeated England for the trophy, but their increased lead atop the global standings was because New Zealand had lost to Australia 24-22 in Brisbane last weekend. The All Blacks’ loss to the Wallabies (6) saw them drop from 91.84 to 90.17 ratings points, leaving them 4.03 ratings points behind the Boks in the world rankings.

Meanwhile, the action is hotting up domestically as the Super Rugby Unlocked competition, devised to give SA-based players some much-needed game time, is heading for a tight finish.

With the title favourites Bulls on a bye, the chasing Stormers, Sharks and Cheetahs are all desperately hunting points in the penultimate round of the Super Rugby Unlocked tournament this weekend.

Any of the three teams in pursuit theoretically can lift the trophy ahead of the Bulls, but will have to negotiate a tricky derby or two the next fortnight.

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The Stormers face two of those inter-provincial crunchers, against the Cheetahs in Cape Town this weekend before the competition finale against the Sharks in Durban on November 21. 

The odds favour the Bulls twice over – not only are they restfully chewing the cud while the internecine battles rage around them, they also host the Pumas, one of the whipping boys of the competition with the Griquas, in their final match next Friday evening. Chances are that the Bulls will land a bonus point win and end on 25 points. The Cheetahs, currently on 12, are in with a distant shout and best they can hope for is for the underdogs to trip up the Bulls, and other results going their way.

That leaves the Stormers and Sharks – both on 13 – to score two bonus point victories, to overtake the Bulls. It’s a long shot, but should the Sharks down the Griquas in Kimberley, and the Stormers see off the Cheetahs, and both garner maximum points, the closing match at Kings Park may well decide the 2020 outcome.

Super Rugby Unlocked Round 5 results

Sharks 19 Cheetahs 13

Griquas 6 Stormers 39

Lions 25 Bulls 20

Round 6 fixtures: 

Fri, Nov 13 (7 pm)

Griquas vs Sharks

Sat , Nov 14

Lions vs Pumas (4.30 pm)

Stormers vs Cheetahs (7 pm)

Standings

(Played, won, lost, drawn, points difference, points)

1   Bulls           5   4  0  1  70 19

2   Stormers   4   3  0  1  11 13

3   Sharks       4   3  0  1   5  13

4   Cheetahs   4   2  1  1 18  12

5   Lions         5  1   1  3  16  10

6   Pumas       4  1   0  3  -44  5

7   Griquas     4  0   0  4  -76  2

Top 10 World Rugby rankings:

1. South Africa (94.20 points)
2. New Zealand (90.17)
3. England (88.42)
4. France (84.59)
5. Ireland (84.10)
6. Australia (83.86)
7. Scotland (82.08)
8. Wales (80.22)
9. Japan (79.29)
10. Argentina (78.31)